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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140378">The Ballad of Alfred and Rosa</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c'>sanctum_c</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Aerti Week 2019 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Acting, Actors, Aerith Gainsborough Lives, Aerti Week, Aerti Week 2019, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Costumes, F/F, Girls Kissing, Gold Saucer (Compilation of FFVII), Gold Saucer play, Kissing, Legends, Lesbian Character, Meta, Mid-Canon, Mythology - Freeform, Not Advent Children (Compilation of FFVII) Compliant, Not Before Crisis (Compilation of FFVII) Compliant, Not Compilation of Final Fantasy VII Compliant, Not Crisis Core (Compilation of FFVII) Compliant, Not Dirge of Cerberus (Compilation of FFVII) Compliant, Not Final Fantasy VII Remake Compliant, POV Aerith Gainsborough, Theatre, world building</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2019-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2019-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:47:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>784</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140378</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Today was Aeris’s turn as Princess Rosa; far easier for her. She settled on watching the audience as Tifa struggled into her twinned costumes of Evil Dragon King (human form) and Evil Dragon King. They took it in turns over successive performances, both hoping their partner would take the role of Princess Rosa would be on-stage – and not replaced with an audience volunteer if the auditorium attendants found a suitable seeming couple to step in.</i>
</p><hr/><p>Aeris and Tifa are actresses in a certain Gold Saucer play.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Aerti Week 2019 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Ballad of Alfred and Rosa</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the prompt 'missing scenes'</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Today was Aeris’s turn as Princess Rosa; far easier for her. She settled on watching the audience as Tifa struggled into her twinned costumes of Evil Dragon King (human form) and Evil Dragon King. They took it in turns over successive performances, both hoping their partner would take the role of Princess Rosa would be on-stage – and not replaced with an audience volunteer if the auditorium attendants found a suitable seeming couple to step in.</p><p>Legendary Hero Alfred was always plucked from the audience – and once upon a time had been Tifa’s role in the play and thus how she met Aeris.</p><p>The seats beyond the curtain filled up as the time ticked closer to performance. Exhausted parents, teenagers seeking a little privacy, children too young for the rides; never an audience specifically seeking out their performance, but hopefully a group who would appreciate their efforts. It was all for fun in any case.</p><p>“Hey.” Tifa waddled towards her, the bulky green of the Evil Dragon Costume hiding any hint of her pink dress beneath. She’d left the head off for now. No sense in more discomfort than necessary.</p><p>“Hey.” Aeris smiled back.</p><p>Tifa nodded to the curtains. “Anyone you figure is going to be selected?”</p><p>Aeris peered back through the curtains. “A few. There’s some guy with a white ruff on his jacket-“ She sighed. “And his date who might be a contender.”</p><p>“Aw.” Tifa rested her gloved hand on Aeris’s back. “They might not you know?”</p><p>“Couples.” Aeris straightened up. “Always couples if they can get them.”</p><p>Tifa nodded. “I know. I think I just prefer it when there’s only one volunteer.”</p><p>Aeris smirked. “Oh, absolutely.” She leant forward to kiss Tifa; quick peck on the lips. The bulk of the Evil Dragon King costume made any more intimate embraces near impossible. That kind of thing would have to wait until after the performance. “Oh, I kept meaning to tell you.” Tifa cocked her head to one side. “I found a book about the play.”</p><p>“The play. Wait, you mean our play?” Tifa blinked. “Someone wrote a book about this.” She gestured to the faded backdrop, the slightly shabby and threadbare costumes, the other actors loitering in the wings.</p><p>“Yes. I mean, no. I mean, sort of?” Aeris rallied quickly. “Its about how it used to be.”</p><p>“Used to be.” Tifa ineffectively scratched at her head with a padded claw. “I thought Dio or someone came up with it.”</p><p>“I did too. But-“ Aeris licked her lips. “So. Turns out that as far as historical research goes, the story of the play is a few centuries old and called The Ballad of Alfred and Rosa.”</p><p>Tifa nodded. “Can’t say I’m totally surprised.”</p><p>“I know, but-“ Aeris gestured with her hands. “But the plot makes... sense.” Tifa burst out laughing. “I know, I know! Impossible right. But like there’s-“ Aeris counted on her fingers. “Like fifteen missing scenes. Alfred has an epic quest, and Rosa thinks he’s dead. And he has to defeat all these other opponents and joins forces with them. And together they go rescue Princess Rosa who escapes on her own and- And- There’s no dragon! No Evil Dragon King.”</p><p>“Not sure how the plot works without him?”</p><p>“Well-“ Hard to summarise in the dwindling minutes before the performance. “-he’s kind of this King. Just a King and he wants to marry Rosa so he can kill her and start a war-“ Tifa seemed increasingly sceptical. “I can show you the book later if you want.”</p><p>“I am curious. And how it got changed into this.” Tifa gestured at her costume. “But; at any point does the beautiful Princess Rosa seduce the, er, villain and find out they are in fact another equally beautiful woman?”</p><p>“Not that I could see...”</p><p>Tifa nodded. “Then I think I like our version more.” She grinned at Aeris.</p><p>Aeris shot her a smile back and bent back to the gap in the curtains. “Sephiroth!”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Aeris jumped up. “Sephiroth is in the audience!”</p><p>“A dead man,” Tifa dead-panned.</p><p>“Well a good impersonator.” Aeris straightened up. “Wasn’t there something about him being spotted in Midgar recently?”</p><p>“Maybe.” Tifa was smiling now. “Still; can’t see them resisting putting him on stage. Anyone with him?”</p><p>Aeris checked again. “None that I can see.” A good chance if 'Sephiroth' made the right choices, the script would branch in the right way to allow Princess Rosa to reveal the true form of the Evil Dragon King. Always the preferred ending.</p><p>The stage hand rushed onto the stage and called for places. Aeris shared one last kiss with Tifa and hurried up behind her to the catwalks above the stage.</p>
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